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Looking forward to a new century

One thing is certain—it has been an amazing journey since a group of people joined forces to dare and create the Trinidad Guardian a hundred years ago today. It has also been a very proud journey for all of us who worked in the newspaper from that very first day and continue to work hard to make sure the T&T Guardian reaches you every single day of the year.

Today’s edition of the T&T Guardian brings a special supplement to celebrate our centenary with you and remember some of our most memorable front pages.

This is just the beginning of a year of celebrations to mark this milestone, designed not only to remember the past but also help shape the next 100 years of our service to the people of T&T.

There will be a special book, available from October, chronicling the newspaper’s history and how it covered the islands’ major news stories.

And we have just announced a conference on digital journalism, to be held on September 29, designed to help all communications professionals in the Caribbean—not only those at Guardian Media—better understand the revolution that is taking place in the sector.

Certain things do not and should not change, though. As we enter our new century, we are as committed as ever to quality journalism. We also want to continue to be the trusted source of information about our country, the region and the world.

We want to be where T&T converges to celebrate its cultural and sporting moments. And, as the Guardians of Democracy, we will remain the fiercest defenders of freedom of expression, fundamental democratic principles. We will also be the promoters of an enterprising society.

We know we will not always get things right but our commitment to these key principles is as strong as ever.

One of the reasons why the T&T Guardian succeeded where other newspapers failed is that, despite its deep commitment to its roots, the newspaper itself remained relevant by changing with the times. And it will continue to do so.

Over the next few weeks, you will notice some considerable changes to your T&T Guardian. We hope you will enjoy them and we look forward to your feedback.

The aim is to make it easier to read, without losing the depth and quality of our content—quite the opposite. Its digital presence is also earmarked for improvements very soon.

You will also see a more engaged newspaper, fighting for causes and raising issues we need to solve if we are to make T&T a better place.

We do not want this to be a solitary journey—we want very much to have your involvement with the causes you feel strongly about. After all, only as a unified community we will be able to deal with so many of the big issues facing our society today.

We will not shy away from reporting the difficult stories—murky dealings or rising crime being just some of them—but we also want to focus on the solutions to these problems and celebrate life.

Today, above all, we want to thank all stakeholders who helped make the T&T Guardian such a success over such a long time.

Our staff, who worked very hard, many times in challenging situations, to make the newspaper a reality. Our advertisers, past and present, who made the newspaper commercially viable in the first place.

And especially you, the reader. We know that, at times, we frustrated you (and we are sorry if we did), but we also hope that, for most of the past 100 years, we fulfilled our aim to give you what you needed to be better informed and, when appropriate, to be entertained.